"I leaned over the wall as if preparing to fall to the other side," Taneem said. "Only instead I merely leaned one paw over and pressed it against the seal."
"I'll be sniggled," Alison said, eyeing the K'da with new respect. "That's a new one on me. As a matter of fact, I don't think even Draycos has tried that one. Nicely done."
"Thank you," Taneem said. "I was afraid it would be seen."
"It might have, at that," Alison agreed. In actual fact, she knew, the flowing air currents out there would eventually have reattached the seal more or less where it was supposed to be.
But Taneem was so proud of her accomplishment that Alison had no intention of popping her bubble. Besides, this way the seal was back in place that much sooner.
"I'm glad I could help," Taneem said. "What now?"
"Now the evening is finally over." Alison yawned widely. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. Let's check out the food supplies and then see about getting some sleep."
CHAPTER 5
As far as Jack could tell, the Ponocce City Police Station was as badly organized as the rest of Brummgan society.
His first stop after being hauled from the patrol car was an office for the usual round of fingerprinting, retinal scans, and other biometric readings. Then he was put into a small holding cell, then sent back to the first office to redo the fingerprints, then over to a second office for no particular reason he could figure out, and once more back to the first office.
Eventually, he ended up in a block of group cells two levels underground that seemed to be stocked mostly with drunks.
Disorganization, Uncle Virgil had often said, was a con man's best friend. In this case, though, none of the chaos did Jack any good. His forced wanderings never took him into a room or corridor with a window, and there were always too many armed Brummgas between him and the doors for him to make a break for it. Draycos, with his warrior's training and eye, agreed with that assessment.
Which wasn't to say either of them liked it.
Four hours, the words whispered through Jack's mind. The thought felt as restless against Jack's mind as Draycos's two-dimensional form felt against his skin. We've been here four hours.
Thanks, I can count, Jack thought back sourly. I'm still open to suggestions.
Draycos didn't answer. Not really surprising, since well before the first hour was up the two of them had discussed and eliminated pretty much every possible plan.
Jack still had the backup comm clip hidden in his shoe. Unfortunately, there was no one to call with it. The Essenay could hardly tackle a police station all by itself, certainly not with Brummgan military aircraft stationed within a couple of miles.
And even if Uncle Virge caught the Brummgas napping and was able to blow a hole in the side of the building, Jack and Draycos were currently sitting right where the pile of rubble from that blast would land. No future in that at all.
Alternatively, Draycos could roll off Jack's back through the plastic doors of their cell and take out the two guards playing cards across the room. But there were a half-dozen surveillance cameras in the cell block, and all the Brummgan inefficiency in the galaxy wouldn't save them once the building was aroused.
They have to eventually take us out of here, he reminded Draycos. They'll take us to trial, or a more permanent prison. Sooner or later, we'll get our chance.
Again, the K'da didn't answer. Again, Jack didn't need a telepathic connection to know what his symbiont was thinking.
Eventually, certainly, they'd be out. But whether they would be out in rime to save Draycos's people was an entirely different question.
Let alone whether they'd be out in time to save Alison and Taneem.
"Human!" a deep voice called. "Human Macavity!"
"Yes, I'm here," Jack called back. He worked his way through the milling drunks to the door, sternly warning his hopes not to get too high. Chances were they'd simply messed up his fingerprints again and were hauling him back up to the second floor to retake them.
"You are summoned," the guard rumbled, sliding the door open for Jack.
A second guard joined them as they walked to the elevator. They got in, and the first Brummga punched one of the buttons.
Only it wasn't the second-floor button. This time, they were taking Jack to the tenth floor, only two floors down from the top of the building.
And that high up, where the senior officers and administrators probably had their offices, there were bound to be windows.
Though we will be ten floors up, Draycos reminded him.
I know, Jack agreed. But at least it's something.
The elevator let them out into a far nicer hallway than anything Jack had seen in the building so far. The guards led him to a thick door, opened it, and nudged him none too gently inside.
The room was reasonably large, clearly someone's office, with a cluttered desk in the middle and a low table and a pair of guest chairs in front of it. The lights were on low, probably a nighttime setting. A man sat behind the desk, his face in shadow. Three large Brummgas stood behind him, their handguns out and pointed at Jack.
And on the side wall to Jack's left was the most beautiful sight he'd seen since crashing his car: a large window looking out onto the lights of the city below.
They had their way out.
"Thank you," the man at the desk said to Jack's escort. "You may leave."
The guards backed out, closing the door behind them. "Welcome, Mr.—Macavity, was it?" the man said, gesturing to the farther of the two guest chairs. "Please; sit down."
Jack crossed toward the chair, trying to get a better look at the man's face. The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. "I expect you're wondering what you're doing here," the man continued as Jack sat down.
"I think the charges were vehicle theft and reckless driving," Jack said, shifting in the seat as if arranging himself. As he did so, he brought one foot up slightly, lifting his heel an inch off the floor. Draycos, can you get to my comm clip?
He felt movement across his skin, then a touch of weight as the K'da's forepaw lifted slightly from the back of his leg just above the ankle. I think so.
Get it, Jack told him. See if you can slide it under my clothes up to my neck.
"I meant what you were doing here, in this office," the man said, gesturing around the room. "I gather you don't recognize me." Leaning forward, he flicked on the desk light, bathing his face in a soft glow.
Jack felt his muscles tighten. He did indeed know the man. His name was Harper, and he worked as a bodyguard for Cornelius Braxton.
The head of Braxton Universis . . . and a man who might have been involved in the murders of Jack's parents eleven years ago.
"I see now that you do," Harper said. "Good. That should save some time."
"Time is usually worth saving," Jack agreed. Draycos had the comm clip out of his shoe now and was working it up along the back of the boy's leg. So far neither Harper nor the Brummgas seemed to have noticed anything. "Do you suppose your friends back there could point those guns somewhere else?" he added.
"Sorry" Harper said, smiling faintly. "After what happened to Slavemaster Gazen a couple of weeks ago, they feel it would be wise to keep you under guard at all times."
Jack looked sharply at the glowering aliens. Those were Chookoock family Brummgas?
"Yes, we're from the Patri Chookoock, Mr. Macavity," Harper said, correctly interpreting Jack's sudden change of expression. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Correction: Mr. Morgan."